Angelic Hero
by kiari-namiro
Summary: Ayumi Fujihara is a young girl who lives a double life of a high school student and a Hero. She has been keeping her Hero career a secret from her friends, and has only told a few people of her personal life. But when a new Hero appears, things might be a a lot more complicated ad interesting than before.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tiger and Bunny, its plot, characters, etc. I only own my OC and everything about her, except the company that will be sponsoring her in this fanfic.**

"normal talk"

'thinking'

"_TV announcer talking"_

"_Person on other side of phone/communicator talking**"**_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"The café is really busy today. Where is Ayumi-san? Don't tell me she's late again."

A young boy was standing behind the cashier counter and kept looking at the entrance every once in a while. He was wearing a simple butler's outfit which consisted of a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a black tuxedo worn over it, black pants, white gloves, and black dress shoes. A few minutes later a young girl ran into the café and waited to catch her breath before looking at the boy.

"There you are, Ayumi-san. This is the fourth time you've been late."

"Gomennasai Ryo-kun. I've been really busy lately. I'll try not to be late next time. I promise."

"That's what you said last week. But I'll let it you off this time. Just change into your uniform and start waiting on tables."

"And that's why you're my favorite boss."

Ayumi went over to Ryo and stood up on her toes to ruffle his slightly spiky black hair since her height only reached his shoulders. She ran into the dressing rooms before Ryo could tease her about her height, like he usually does, and changed into her maid uniform. Her uniform consisted of a black choker, a black long-sleeved dress that was down to her mid-thighs, a white puffy apron of the same length, white calf-length socks, and black dress shoes with white bows on top. She walked over to the vanity mirror and put on a black headband with white cat ears. Ayumi made sure there was nothing wrong with her uniform before walking out to see Ryo waiting for her outside the door.

"You look really cute in that uniform." Ayumi couldn't help but smile as the said boy walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "And I'm not just saying that because you're my girlfriend." Ayumi looked down at the floor to hide her blush of embarrassment but Ryo held her chin with his thumb and index finger and lifted her head. "Now you better start waiting on tables before I decide to fire you. You may be my girlfriend but I have to prove to my parents that I can run a business. It's kind of hard being eighteen and running a business."

Ryo gave Kairi a simple kiss before letting her go so she can start serving tables while he went back to managing the cash register.

* * *

Ayumi was cleaning one of the tables after they closed the café and the last customer had paid and left. She was too busy cleaning that she didn't notice Ryo walking up behind her until he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. The other waitresses and butlers of the café were aware of their relationship and didn't really mind as long it didn't affect their work relationship. Ayumi stopped cleaning and turned around while in Ryo's arms before placing her hands on his chest.

"Did I ever tell you how adorable you look?" Ryo gave Ayumi a peck on the lips and laughed a bit when she looked away to hide her blushing face. "We've been going out since the beginning of the year and I have kissed so many times, but you still get embarrassed every time I kiss you. I thought you would be used to it by now."

"I will try not to get embarrassed next time."

"It's okay. You don't have to change because of me. I'm just saying that you always blush every time we kiss. I'm not saying that I didn't like you doing that. Besides, I find it to be really cute." Ryo was about to give Ayumi another kiss but was stopped by a beeping sound coming from Ayumi's right wrist. "I'm starting to get really tired of hearing that beeping. You should get a new watch, Ayumi-san."

"Gomennasai Ryo-kun." Kairi placed her hand over her wrist before backing away from Ryo when he put his arms down. "Like I said, I've been really busy that I had to set up an alarm so I won't get behind schedule. I'll see you at school, okay?" She gave Ryo a quick kiss before running into the female dressing room and moved her sleeve up to reveal a white and pink watch communicator. "Hai."

"_There's best a robbery in West Silver. The other heroes are already on their way to capture the robbers. The armored truck the criminals are in is heading towards the nearby bridge. I suggest you hurry if you want to get some points."_

"Wakarimashita."

Ayumi quickly changed out of her maid uniform and into her school uniform before running out of the dressing room and towards the back door. She saw a black car parked behind the café and rushed over to the car and went inside. The driver rolled up the tinted window between the front seat and the back seat before speeding off. Ayumi picked up the remote on the seat and pointed it at the small monitor attached to the back of the front seat. She pressed the power button to turn on the monitor that was showing the Hero TV channel.

"_We have breaking news! Robbers have attacked an armored truck in West Silver, in the Stern Medaille area, and have made off with 3 million Stern!"_

Ayumi watched at the camera switched to the one that was recording the police cars chasing the stolen armored truck until one of the criminals opened the back doors and started shooting at the police cars as one of them crashed into the side of the bridge.

"_Oh no! The police car! Will they let them make off with the cash?"_

"I wonder how many criminals are in that truck." As soon as Ayumi said that, close-up snapshots of the three criminals were shown on the screen. "Oh. Never mind."

"_We still haven't spotted any heroes. As you all know, we bring live coverage of super-powered Heroes taking on crimes and natural disasters straight to your living room!"_

Shadow figures of eight heroes were shown in front of the bright light before a curtain fell in front of the heroes. Two signs dropped down and showed two of the points the heroes need to earn. One showed 200 points for each criminal captured, and the other showed 100 points for each person saved.

"_The rescue entertainment program that rates heroes by their actions to pick the King of Heroes! This is Hero TV Live!"_

"Fujihara-san, we are just about a few miles from the getaway van of the robbers. Due to the traffic I can't get any closer. I will go ahead and bring your things to your house."

"Arigato Sakano-san."

A small compartment opened next to the monitor to reveal a small white box inside it. Ayumi took out the box and opened it to reveal a white choker with a pink heart-shaped pendant hanging in the middle. She wore the choker around her neck and held it between her right index and middle finger.

"Henshin!"

Ayumi closed her eyes when the pendant started to have a white glow before a white shoulder-width glowing ring appeared around her neck and floated up to above her head. The ring expanded a few feet before floating down to her feet, changing her hair color from brown to pink and growing it down to pass her waist. Ayumi opened her now dark pink eyes as the ring floated back up to her neck, changing her attire. Her new attire consisted of a pink low-thigh-length kimono, a yellow ribbon tied around her waist with a long bow on the back, a white spandex shorts, and white knee-length boots with a sponsor logo on the side of each boot; SEGA on her right, .ANIME on her left. After making sure her attire was in check, she took out two white ribbons from the gym bag and used them to tie her hair into pigtails that went down to her waist.

"Ready to go, Cutie Angel?"

"Hai."

Sakano pressed a button above him as the moon roof opened above Cutie Angel before the said hero brought her feet up onto the seat and jumped out through the moon roof and high into the air. Her eyes and body started glowing light blue as a pair of small white glowing wings appeared on her back. She started flying above the traffic and towards the middle of the bridge.

* * *

"_And here comes one now!" _The camera recording the chase zoomed in on a red car with flames as it zoomed in on the driver who was a hero wearing a red suit and cape with flame patterns on it._ "It's Fire Emblem, the Bourgeois Open Flame Broil!" _A picture of Fire Emblem appeared and showed that he got 25 points for being the first hero to arrive._ "Will he be able to make the grand arrest today?"_ The camera zoomed out to record Fire Emblem quickly driving through cars and quickly caught up with the criminals. _"He's caught up to the suspect with his skill driving!"_

Two of the criminals started shooting at Fire Emblem to get him off their tail but failed when the ball wheel of Fire Emblem's car made it easy to gain back control when he swerved a bit, shocking the criminals. Fire Emblem created a fireball and shot it at the armored car and caused it to go out of control until it was stopped by a hero in an armored suit with a bull's head.

"_It's Rock Bison, the Bull Tank of the West Coast!"_ A picture of Rock Bison appeared on the screen and showed that he got 5 points for being the second hero to arrive. _"Things have not been good for Rock Bison this season."_ The camera zoomed in on Rock Bison holding up the armored car in a vertical position with his strength._ "But it looks like we will be able to see him in action for the first time in a while."_

Unfortunately, the criminals got out of the car and started running away while Rock Bison was unable to stop him due to his horns being stuck. The criminals hijacked a nearby taxi and started speed driving away from the two heroes. They thought they had gotten away until a female hero with green hair fell from out of nowhere and slammed down and jumped up from the top of the hood of the taxi.

"_Coming down from the sky is Dragon Kid, the Lightning Bolt Kung Fu Master!"_ Dragon Kid's eyes and body started glowing light blue as electrical sparks appeared around her arms. _"Wow! She charges up her arms and releases her special attack!"_ She broke through the glass and grabbed the two criminals sitting in front before electrocuting them and pulling them out of the taxi. _"The two suspects are under arrest!"_

A picture of Dragon Kid appeared and showed that she got 400 points for capturing the two criminals. The camera zoomed in on a hero, with a large shuriken on his back, standing behind Dragon Kid.

"_And, as usual, Origami Cyclone can be seen in the background."_ A picture of Origami Cyclone appeared and showed that he got 0 points for showing up late and hiding in the background. _"This incident is now...huh? Oh no! One of the robbers is still on the run!"_ The camera turned to a monorail and zoomed in to show the criminal holding a gun towards the conductor. _"This is terrible! According to the information we have just received, the robber has hijacked a monorail."_ The camera moved to a hero in a tight tiger suit standing on the railing of the monorail. _"Wild Tiger, the Crusher for Justice, has shown up during this terrible situation."_

Wild Tiger was standing heroically as he waited for the monorail until he got an order to wait until after commercial. The camera had temporarily stopped recording for the commercial right before Cutie Angel flew down to fly next to Wild Tiger.

"Are you going to wait until after commercial?"

"I can't wait for a commercial in this situation! We Heroes only care about keeping the peace!" Wild Tiger's eyes and body started glowing light blue as his body started becoming more muscular. "Wild Roar!"

"I agree. I just hope you know what you're doing."

"_Angel.__**"**_ Hearing the director's voice, Cutie Angel placed her hand on the small communication device in her right ear._**"**__Are you listening?__**"**_

"Hai."

"_I am going to end the commercial. Standby in case Tiger's plan backfires.**"**_

"Wakarimasu." Cutie Angel flew out of the camera and stood by as the camera continued recording Wild Tiger who was already at maximum strength. 'Please don't do anything reckless.'

"_Wild Tiger is activating his Hundred Power! This makes his physical abilities"_ Wild Tiger grabbed a part of the railing and starting easily moving it around into mashed up waves. _"…a hundred times more powerful!"_

Seeing that the monorail was still heading fast into the mashed up rails, Cutie Angel reached into one of her kimono sleeves and pulled out a pink foot-long scepter with a white heart on top. She pointed the white heart towards the monorail as large white glowing wings appeared on the sides of the monorail, slowing it down. Once the monorail stopped against the rails, the wings disappeared before Cutie Angel flew down to check on the passengers. Seeing that the passengers were okay, despite minimal injuries, she started flying after the airship the criminal was now in. Meanwhile, Wild Tiger was running after the airship as another flying hero flew by him and towards the airship.

"_And here comes Sky High, the Wind Master! Mr. Hero, the star player this season, is on the scene!"_

Sky High flew towards the front of the airship just before a missile was shot out but missed its target. Wild Tiger, who had just got on the air ship, saw the missile heading his way and ran away from it before punching it off course. The explosion of the missile caused the airship to shake and the two pilots to fall out. Luckily, Sky High was there to use his wind power to stop them from falling. A picture of Sky High appeared and showed that he got 200 points for saving the two pilots.

"_Uh-oh! The airship has just crashed into a building!" _The impact against the building caused one of the propellers to break and caused the airship to head towards a passenger ship at the pier._ "It's going to crash into a passenger ship!"_

The airship was flying closer to the passenger ship when the water suddenly shot up towards the airship and turned into ice. The ice held the airship and stopped it from reaching the passenger ship. Wild Tiger was holding the unconscious criminal while holding onto the airship when he saw another female hero standing on a hill of ice.

"_This is the moment you fans have been waiting for! Blue Rose, Super Idol of the world of Heroes, has saved the passenger with her Freezing Liquid Gun!"_

A picture of Blue Rose appeared and showed that she got a maximum of 500 points for saving the passengers. The camera rotated around Blue Rose as the said hero started reciting her catch phrase.

"My ice is a little cold, but your crime has been put completely on hold!"

"_She's done it!"_

"Do you just want to rack up the numbers?" Wild Tiger jumped off the airship and landed on some flat ice while holding the unconscious criminal by his suspenders. "I caught the suspect here, you know!" He suddenly felt something hit his chest and looked down at the now conscious criminal holding his gun towards his chest. "You…What are you doing?"

Wild Tiger removed the bullet as if it's not hurting him and looked down at the criminal who was no longer on the ice next to him. Hearing the criminal's yell, he looked and saw the criminal running towards Blue Rose.

"Hey! Don't come this way!" Blue Rose ducked to dodge a bullet before sliding down the ice hill. "I can't take this anymore!"

"_It's her explosive Cutie Escape!"_

"She's just running away."

Wild Tiger quickly moved to dodge a bullet before jumping high in the air. He was about to do a falling powerful punch on the criminal if his time limit wasn't up. Cutie Angel just arrived at the harbor and saw Wild Tiger jump high into the air falling and was heading towards some ice spikes.

"Oh no!" Cutie Angel was about to fly down to catch Wild Tiger but a mystery hero in black armor jump from out of nowhere and caught the falling hero. "Who is that? A new hero?"

The mystery hero landed on some flat ice as Wild Tiger looked up at the mystery hero in confusion. The mystery hero remembered about the criminal as he dropped Wild Tiger and started dashing into action.

"_It's…uh, who is he?"_

The criminal continued shooting until his gun was suddenly shot out of his hand, distracting him long enough for the mystery hero to slice kick the ice the criminal was standing on. The mystery hero grabbed the criminal by the back of his shirt and jumped onto the ship before dropping the criminal. The passengers gathered around the mystery hero as he lifted the front of his helmet to reveal his face.

"_Is this the birth of a new star? The season ends with a mystery hero!"_

* * *

Cutie Angel watched some of Blue Rose's performance before flying off to try to find the mystery hero. She found him at the still frozen pier as she flew down and was careful not to slip on ice once she stepped foot on it. She deactivated her power, making her wings disappear, and walked up towards the mystery hero.

"Thank you for your help. Who are you?"

"Boku wa Barnaby Brooks Jr." Barnaby looked down at Cutie Angel's archery bow then looked at the female hero's face. "So you were the one who shot that white arrow. Nice shot."

"Huh?" Cutie Angel looked down to hide her slight blush as her archery bow glowed white and changed back into her scepter. "Arigato. I've been practicing."

"Hey." Cutie Angel and Barnaby looked to see Wild Tiger skating over to them. "Nice work, Angel-chan. Your archery has improved." Cutie Angel smiled and thanked Wild Tiger before the said male hero turned his attention to Barnaby. "What's your affiliation?"

"Affiliation?"

"You're a free agent, yet you stuck your neck into this? What's the big idea?"

"What does it matter? We made an arrest?"

"Anyway," Wild Tiger followed the Barnaby who was starting to walk away. "a Hero shouldn't remove his mask in front of other people. It's unheard of!" He skated to stand in front of Barnaby to stop him from walking away. "Heroes never reveal their identities."

"How old-fashioned." Wild Tiger stopped talking after hearing Barnaby's comment. "You've fallen behind the times, oji-san."

"What?" Wild Tiger just stood there watching Barnaby leave until he heard Cutie Angel let out a small scream. "Hm?" He looked back and tried not to laugh at the sight of Cutie Angel sitting on the ice. "Dai jyo bu?"

"Hai." Cutie Angel carefully and slowly stood up so she wouldn't slip and fall again. "Do you think he's going to be working with us for the next season? It might make things interesting since his power is similar to yours."

"Maybe."

* * *

**A/N: Before any of you ask or comment, I know that .ANIME is one of Origami Cyclones sponsors. There will be an explanation to why I made it one of my OC's sponsors later on in the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tiger and Bunny, its plot, characters, etc. I only own my OC and everything about her, except the company that will be sponsoring her in this fanfic.**

"normal talk"

'thinking'

"_Announcer talking"_

_**"**Person on other side of phone/communicator talking__**"**_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"_Everyone, thank you for waiting. We're about to announce the result of this season's Hero TV."_

Almost everyone in Stern Bild is at the stadium to see which Hero will be given the title King of Heroes of the season. Seven of the Heroes were standing on the stage as a spotlight shined on each of them. Cutie Angel looked to see that Wild Tiger was not on stage and was wondering where he was. What she didn't know was that Wild Tiger was still backstage talking to his sponsor.

"Do you realize what you've done, Kotetsu? Why did you have to bend the rail? And you didn't have to break the car's windows, did you?"

"Well…"

"Then why did you break them? Do you know how much they cost?"

"If I worried about that, I wouldn't be able to keep the peace."

"If I don't worry about that, I can't protect you!"

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"You do know who made you a Hero, don't you?"

"Our sponsors, sir!"

"Good. Now go to the awards ceremony!"

Wild Tiger nodded his head before heading onto the stage to join the other Heroes. He made it on stage just when the King of Heroes was about to be announced.

"_Thank you for waiting! We are going to announce our MVP!"_

The spotlight starting moving around as the large screen showed a spinning roulette with the names of the eight Heroes. The roulette stopped spinning as each of the Heroes' names were listed in order with the Hero with the most points on top and the Hero with the least points on the bottom. The Hero with the most points turned out to be Sky High.

"_With 12,730 points…the King of Heroes is Sky High!"_

The audience started cheering as Sky High walked forward and stood in his hero pose.

"I couldn't have done this without everyone's help. Thanks, and thanks again!"

Cutie Angel was clapping for Sky High until she looked towards Wild Tiger and saw the upset look on his face. She looked at the list on the large screen and saw that he was at rank 6, a rank lower than her. The screen changed to show the announcer next to a podium with the Hero TV logo on it.

"_Next, a message from Albert Maverick, the CEO of Apollon Media, as well as the president of OBC!"_

An old man wearing clear glasses and a brown suit walked over to stand behind the podium as a text saying 'Apollon Median CEO and OBC President' appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"Before that, there is someone I'd like to introduce." Maverick looked towards the side and gestured for someone to come out on stage. "Please come in." The heroes looked down at the front stage and saw a young man in red walk over to stand next to Maverick. "Barnaby Brooks Jr. here has been officially approved by the Justice Bureau. He is the new Hero who will be keeping the peace in Stern Bild." Barnaby did some kind of salute that made the female audience scream and cheer for him. "When he activates his power, he can make his physical abilities a hundred times more powerful." Wild Tiger was shocked to hear what Barnaby's power was, but Cutie Angel wasn't so surprised knowing her suspicions were right. "He can only activate it for five minutes at a time, and shares the exact same power as another Hero…But he's young! Try not to become a Hero who needs rescuing." The audience started laughing at bit at Maverick's funny advice as the large screen showed some information about NEXT. "Individuals with super powers known as NEXT suddenly appeared in this world 45 years ago due to a mutation." Wild Tiger decided to leave in the middle of Maverick's talking before anyone could stop him. "We still don't know what triggers these powers. What we do know is that peace has been upheld in this city because of these NEXT…in other words, these people with special powers who have worked as Heroes."

* * *

Almost all of the Heroes, their sponsors, and representatives from large companies were attending a formal celebration for the Heroes. All of the Heroes were wearing formal attire as well as part of their Hero attire to hide their real identities. Cutie Angel was wearing white hair ribbons for her hair, her signature pendant around her neck, a yellow above-knee-length tube gown, white gloves that went past her elbows, and white pumps. She walked around and saw Rock Bison, who had finally got away from Fire Emblem, and walked over to him.

"Ano…have you seen Tiger-san? Shouldn't he be here?"

"He decided not to attend the celebration, for some reason. You shouldn't worry about him. You know he can take care of himself. He is your mentor, after all. Just enjoy the celebration and try socializing more." Cutie Angel looked down and nodded her head. "Who knows? Maybe socializing will help you speak louder when taking people's orders at your boyfriend's café."

"Hey!" Cutie Angel looked up at Rock Bison with a blush on her face. "You promised you won't talk about any of that around the other Heroes and the sponsors. Only a few people know about that. I want to keep it like that."

"Mochiron. I was joking, anyway. Loosen up a little."

Cutie Angel started walking around and greeted every sponsor she came across. She saw her sponsor company's president talking to Origami Cyclone, the other Hero who is being sponsored by the same company. For some reason, the company president thought it'd be a good idea to sponsor more the one Hero.

"You can relax now." Origami Cyclone put his arms down and closed the two fans he had. "You don't really have to talk like that during the celebration party. Also," Cutie Angel grabbed the two fans and put them in her small white purse. "you don't really need to have these, right?"

"I guess not." Origami Cyclone noticed how tired Cutie Angel looked as he bent down a bit to talk to her without being heard by everyone else. "Daijyobu ka? You should go home and get some rest. You're obviously still tired. Don't you need to study for a test for tomorrow?"

"I do need to study, but I'll do that after the celebration. It might not look good for the company if one of their Heroes decide to leave in the middle of a celebration. That's why I'll wait until the end." Knowing that he can't convince her to change her mind, Origami Cyclone nodded his head before standing straight. "Besides…I'm not even tired. It's not the first time I have been this tired. So don't worry about me. Now go around and talk to people. If you do, then I'll make you one of my pastries."

"You know I can never say no to your pastries. I'll leave you alone for now. Just don't over exhaust yourself next time."

Cutie Angel continued walking around until she heard her phone ringing. She took out her phone from her purse and saw that the person calling was Ryo. She walked over to a closet and looked around before going inside without anyone noticing. She locked the door before answering her phone.

"Moshi moshi?"

"_Ayumi-san? Are you busy today?__**"**_

"Not really. I was just going to study for a test for tomorrow. Why?"

"_Mimi can't come in for work today. I was wondering if you can come and fill in for her this afternoon.__**"**_

"This afternoon?"

"_I understand if you can't come in. I can ask someone el—__**"**_

"You don't have to. I can fill in for Mimi-chan."

"_Thanks. I'll see you at work, then. Bye.__**"**_

"Bye."

Cutie Angel ended the conversation and placed her phone in her purse. She unlocked the door and walked out of the closet, closing it behind her. She turned around and was startled to see Barnaby standing there. Barnaby gave her a suspicious look as Cutie Angel bowed a bit before walking away from him.

* * *

When school has ended for the day, Ayumi opened her locker and started putting some of her books in her locker. She was too busy thinking about the new season for Hero TV that she didn't see Ryo walking up to her.

"Ayumi-san, daijyobu ka?" Ayumi was pulled out of her trance when she felt Ryo hold her hand. "You've been quiet. More quiet than usual. Is something bothering you?"

"Gomen Ryo-kun. I'm just feeling a bit tired, that's all. Did you need something?"

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out after school. Since the café will be closed today, I was wondering if you want to go eat somewhere. That is, if you're not busy with anything."

"Well…" Ayumi lifted her right hand and looked at it. "my watch hasn't been beeping lately. So I guess I'm free to eat out with you." Right when she said that Ayumi's watch communicator starting beeping. "Gomen Ryo-kun. I guess I can't spend time with you afterschool."

"Your watch has terrible timing. I guess I'll see you later." Ryo moved closer to Ayumi and gave her a peck on her lips, causing Ayumi to blush. "Kawaii. You're going to have to tell me what's been making you busy one day."

"Maybe." Ryo smiled a bit as he watched Ayumi run out of the school. 'Gomen Ryo-kun. I wish I can tell you that I'm a Hero. But I'm afraid of how you'll react if I tell you.' Ayumi was expecting to see Sakano waiting for her, but he was not there. "Sakano-san isn't here yet. How am I supposed to go to the crime scene?" She noticed one of her classmates run out of the school until she saw Ayumi standing in front of the gate. "Karina-chan!"

"Ayumi?" Karina was about to walk into a black car until Ayumi called her. "Doshita no? Sakano-san wa doko?"

"I don't know. He's probably caught in traffic or something. Is it okay if I ride with you?"

"Sure. We better hurry." Ayumi ran over and got in the car before Karina got in and closed the door. "Let's go." The driver nodded his head before driving away from the school. "How are you going to change? You don't have your pendant, do you?"

"Actually…" Ayumi opened her bag and took out her signature pendant. "I forgot to take it off after the celebration. I didn't want my parents to find it so they wouldn't get suspicious." She looked at the window and saw that they were driving an area that barely had people. "I can get out from here. It's not good for Heroes from different companies to show up together, right?"

"Our sponsors won't like that, will they?" Karina and Ayumi laughed a bit at Karina's comment. "I'll see you at the crime scene, Cutie Angel."

"Sou desu yo, Blue Rose." Right when the car stopped, Ayumi got out and ran into a secluded alley before putting on her pendant. "Henshin!"

* * *

Wild Tiger, wearing his new Hero suit, arrived at the bridge where the giant Steel Hammer statue was somehow walking on its own and causing havoc. He was looking for the other Hero the head of Apollon Media, his new company sponsor, that is supposed to be his new partner. He heard a yell from above and looked up before quickly moving to avoid being body slammed by Rock Bison.

"Huh? You?!" Wild Tiger crouched down as Rock Bison sat up holding his head. "Huh? Really? With you, Rock Bison?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? You're my—"

Before Wild Tiger could finish his sentence Barnaby, who was now wearing a suit similar to his previous one but white and red, showed up on his motorcycle. Barnaby stopped next to the two older Heroes before lifting up the front of his helmet to show his face.

"Let's go, oji-san."

"Huh?! You?!"

Wild Tiger didn't like the idea of him sitting in the side cart attached to Barnaby's motorcycle as they rode down the bridge. He saw the Steel Hammer statue up ahead and was expecting Barnaby to stop the motorcycle, but his partner just kept driving past the statue.

"Woah, woah, stop! Hey, hey, hey…you passed it."

Barnaby didn't stop the motorcycle until they were in a position where they can see the whole area where the other Heroes were gathered. Barnaby used his suit to locate the other Heroes who were already in the area.

"Why aren't we going in? Hurry up and—"

"I'm gathering information. If I know where the other Heroes are, we'll avoid showing up at the same time, and make a grand entrance."

"Tsk, how stupid." Barnaby stopped locating and looked back at Wild Tiger. "Will we catch the culprit if we stand out? Will that bring peace to the city?" Wild Tiger held up his finger in an instructing manner and said, "Listen, a hero is all about—"

"_Bonjour Heroes. We're going on air. Good luck!__**"**_

"Time to get to work."

"Matte yo." Before Wild Tiger could give his plan he was startled by Origami Cyclone who suddenly passed by him. "What the heck?"

"_Whoa, is that truck what I think it is?!"_

The camera turned its attention to a white bus with flashing lights and a picture of Blue Rose on the side. The side of the bus started opening as Blue Rose's entrance theme started to play. Lights were flashing out from inside the truck as the fog faded to reveal Blue Rose.

"My ice is a little bit cold, but your crime has been put completely on hold!"

"_There she is! It is not just her body that is naughty! Blue Rose is on the scene!"_

As the camera was recording Blue Rose, Origami Cyclone was standing in the background as usual. Wild Tiger was watching the two Heroes until he saw Barnaby heading off somewhere without him. He ran after his partner until he caught up with him.

"I'll bring that thing down using my wires!"

"Good luck with that."

"Shut up!" Wild Tiger held up his right arm and prepared to fire his wires. "I'll show you what being a Hero is all about!" He tried shooting his wires but didn't exactly know how to work his new suit. "Huh?" He started hitting his arm until a wire shot out of it and attached its end on a nearby statue. "Watch and learn!"

Wild Tiger looked to see that Barnaby had left and looked around until he saw him standing at an unfinished construction site. The Hero TV broadcast helicopter flew over to Barnaby to get his appearance on camera.

"_There he is! It's Barnaby, the new Hero!"_

After figuring out how to release his wires, Wild Tiger retracted his wire and aimed towards the back right shoulder of the Steel Hammer statue. He shot his wire towards the giant statue, not expecting Barnaby to jump onto the statue, as the hook attached itself to Barnaby's chest. Since the statue was turned sideways Wild Tiger didn't see that his wire had attached itself to Barnaby. He pulled on the wire and was confused when he didn't feel any resistance as he looked up to see Barnaby flying towards him. Barnaby was pulled towards him and cause both Heroes to fall back as one of Wild Tiger's wires was accidentally released and rebounded to wrap around them. They tried to struggle out of the wire but were having a hard time getting themselves free.

"What kind of joke is this?"

"It's your fault for getting caught in it!"

Wild Tiger looked up and had a scared look on his face as Barnaby did the same and saw the giant Steel Hammer statue lift up its hammer. The two Heroes were about to get smashed by the giant hammer until a white glowing ring appeared around them and pulled them out of the way. They were lifted up into the air and onto a tall building away from the Steel Hammer statue. The Steel Hammer statue reached to grab them but its attention was turned to the right when it felt a couple of white arrows hit its right shoulder. Wild Tiger and Barnaby looked up to see Cutie Angel holding her pink archery bow with an arrow aimed at the statue.

"_A quick save by the Angelic Hero, Cutie Angel!"_ Cutie Angel's picture appeared and showed that she got 200 points for saving two lives. _"Even though she rarely gets points for capturing criminals, she is known for saving lives."_

Cutie Angel prepared to shoot her arrow in case the giant statue tried to attack but was surprised that it completely stopped in mid swing. She looked down at Wild Tiger and Barnaby and she held up her archery bow as it changed into her scepter. She pointed her scepter towards Apollon's Heroes and moved it towards the side to make the white ring disappear before flying away.

"Nice save, Angel-chan."

"This will not look good for the company. Getting rescued by a Hero of another company is not good for my Hero image."

"Be thankful that Angel-chan was around to help us out. She's doing exactly what a Hero is supposed to do."

"We wouldn't need saving if you haven't gotten in my way."

"Nani?!"

* * *

"I can't work with that guy!"

Wild Tiger was standing in the president's office at Apollon Media to discuss the earlier events with the Apollon Media's company president.

"Say that after you get some results. I thought that you two were finished. Lucky for you Cutie Angel showed up in time to save you. But it does not look good for Heroes of one company give points to a Hero of another company. It looks like the statue stopped moving somehow."

Wild Tiger and the company president turned their attention to the monitor that was showing the Hero TV news of the Steel Hammer statue.

"_An hour has passed since the stone statue stopped its advance. And it still does not look like it is going to be moving any time soon."_

"What does the culprit want, anyway?"

"That doesn't matter." Kotetsu was surprised to hear the president did not care about the statue. "I am more concerned with you than that incident! Do you understand the situation that you are in?"

"My situation?"

"That's right." The president held up a picture of Barnaby and a picture of Kotetsu. "We have a contract with you to act as Barnaby's foil."

"What?!"

"You are Barnaby's second. His sidekick. An extra. Wakaru?"

"Chotto matte kudasai!" Kotetsu raised his arms in frustration before walking up to the president's desk. "Why do I have be his sidekick?!"

"And by the way," The president lifted his finger in front of Kotetsu to silence the said man. "our mechanic is angry with you, too."

"Huh?"

* * *

"Today is pretty slow, huh?"

"It's usually busy on weekends since there isn't any school going on today." Ayumi and another one of the waitresses were sweeping the floors. "Maybe there's some event going on today."

"Maybe some people are stuck in traffic because of that incident with the Steel Hammer statue. Don't you find it strange that it suddenly stopped moving?"

"It is strange." Ayumi thought back to the when the statue was about to swing its hammer at her but suddenly stopped at mid-swing. 'I wonder who's controlling the statue. Why did the culprit suddenly stop the statue?' She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind as she looked over her shoulder and was greeted by a kiss from Ryo. "Ryo-kun, you startled me!"

"Gomen Ayumi-san. I thought you heard me calling you." Ryo removed his arms from around Ayumi so he can wrap his arm around her waist. "I heard you guys talking about the incident with Steel Hammer statue. It sure made a lot of damage. Strange how it suddenly stopped moving."

"Ayumi-chan and I thought it was strange to." The black-haired waitress pulled out the nearest chair and sat on it. "You two make such a cute couple. Isn't your anniversary coming up?"

"It's actually tomorrow. I plan to take Ayumi-san out for a fancy dinner."

"How romantic! I'm so jealous of you, Ayumi-chan!"

"Please don't say that, Reina-chan. I feel so embarrassed."

"Kawaii!" Reina suddenly stood up and started squeezing Ayumi in hug. "You're like an adorable little kid!" She let go of Ayumi when she heard Ayumi's watch communicator beeping. "Ryo is right. Your watch is annoying. How come you won't tell us what's been making you busy?"

"She won't even tell me."

"Honto ni gomennasai. But I have to go. I wish I could stay to finish my shift."

"Just go. I'll be fine here by myself."

"Arigato Reina-chan." Ayumi hugged Reina then kissed Ryo before she started heading into the locker room to change. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ryo-kun!"

* * *

Cutie Angel caught up to the Steel Hammer statue and saw that it was just standing there. She flew over to the statue and saw that it was holding Wild Tiger and Barnaby in its hands.

"Boku wa bunny jya nai! Barnaby desu!" Wild Tiger was mimicking Barnaby when he saw Cutie Angel fly over to them. "Hey Angel-chan, doesn't Barnaby remind your of a bunny?"

"Huh?" Cutie Angel flew over to Barnaby and looked at realized what Wild Tiger meant. "Now that you mention it, those ear things on his helmet do kind of look like bunny ears."

"Not helping!" Even though you can't see his face, Barnaby was probably glaring at Wild Tiger before looking at Cutie Angel. "Can you get us out of here?"

"Can't you guys use your powers to get out?"

"Our powers only last for five minutes."

"But that should be enough time, right?"

"_Bonjour. A different statue is on the move! The Lion Statue, the symbol of Helperidese Finance, is running towards New Morghen Area. __**"**_

"New Morghen Area? Tiger-san, isn't your—" Cutie Angel used her arm to cover her eyes from the heavy dust that was created when Wild Tiger used his power to free himself from the statue's grasp. "Did you really have to damage the Steel Hammer statue?"

"Care to free me as well?" Wild Tiger and Cutie Angel looked at Barnaby with confused looks. "I won't be able to get the center of attention if both our powers are activated."

"Tiger-san." Wild Tiger looked at Cutie Angel as she flew over Barnaby. "I'll help Barnaby. You have to stop the Lion Statue from reaching the New Morghen Area. Hurry!"

Wild Tiger nodded before leaving to go after the Lion Statue. Cutie Angel brought out her archery bow and flew a couple meters away from the statue's hand. She pulled her arm back, creating a white arrow, and aimed at the Steel Hammer statue's hand. She shot her arrow as it destroyed the statue's hand and freed Barnaby. Barnaby nodded his head in gratitude before getting on his motorcycle and starting it. Cutie Angel flew down and sat in the side cart before Barnaby started driving towards New Morghen Area.

* * *

Wild Tiger was holding up parts of the building that was blocked up the exit as he looked around and saw a young girl lying unconscious on the ice. He tossed the parts aside and started running towards the girl before she gets crushed by more falling parts of the building. Unfortunately he could not reach her in time as he stood there in sorrow.

"Arigato onii-san!"

Wild Tiger turned around and saw that Barnaby was able to save the girl before she got crushed. He also saw Cutie Angel waiting by the exit before escorting the girl out of the building. Wild Tiger used his power to jump up and stand behind Barnaby.

"A-Arigato."

"Huh?" Barnaby turned to look back at Wild Tiger who was looking away. "I don't see any reason why you should be thanks me."

"You're right."

"Help!"

Wild Tiger and Barnaby looked to see one of the junior skaters being held in the mouth of the Lion Statue. Cutie Angel ran back into the building and saw the skater get tossed in the air. She used her power to create her wings before flying towards the skater and caught him before he could reach the ground. She looked at the statue and saw the same kid who was on the Steel Hammer statue.

"Don't get in my way."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because they left me out."

"They left you out?"

"That's right. They all ignored me, saying that I'm creepy!"

"That's because he started moving dolls…" Cutie Angel looked down at the skater she was carrying. "You call yourselves NEXT, but that just means that you're not human, doesn't it? Of course it creeps us out!"

'That's why I'm afraid of telling Ryo-kun that I'm a NEXT. I'm afraid he might like this and say that I'm creepy.'

"I didn't ask to have this power!"

"I don't care! Hurry up and go away!"

"I will never forgive you."

The Lion statue let out a roar before approaching three Heroes. Cutie Angel safely placed the skater on his feet before standing in front of him.

"I understand how you feel."

"Liar!"

"I'm not lying. I became a NEXT when I was about your age." The boy had a surprised look on his face as he stopped the Lion Statue from walking. "I creeped out my friends the same way. I used to hate my powers, and I cried every day. But one day, a Hero named Legend taught me something. He said, 'Your power is meant to save people.'"

'That's kind of the same thing Tiger-san told me the first time we met.'

_Flashback…_

_Ayumi was sitting on a bench in the empty part of the park after discovering that she was a NEXT. She never asked for her power and was afraid of what other people would think if they knew. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a little kid crying nearby. She looked around and saw a little girl sitting on the ground by herself with a stuffed bunny lying next to her. She got up from the bench and walked over to little girl and knelt down in front of her._

"_Are you okay?"_

"_No, I'm not. My big brother told me that Ms. Bunny is not a real bunny. There's nothing special about her."_

"_Well I think he's wrong. Ms. Bunny is special."_

"_No she's not! She can't do anything."_

'_Poor little girl. How am I supposed to help her feel better?' Ayumi thought for a while until she thought of an idea. "Can you keep a secret?"_

"_Uh huh." The little girl nodded her head and was surprised to see Ayumi glowing light blue. "You're glowing!"_

"_I know. It's part of my power. I can make Ms. Bunny do something special. Want to see?"_

_The little girl nodded her head and was surprised to see her Ms. Bunny flying around them with small white wings. Ayumi smiled to see the little girl playing with her now flying stuffed bunny. She was glad no one else was around. Otherwise they'd witness her power. Or so she thought._

"_That is some power you have." Ayumi got startled as she looked behind her to see Wild Tiger standing behind her. "It's pretty cool gift to have."_

"_No it's not." Wild Tiger was shocked by what he heard as Ayumi looked down at her lap. "There's nothing good about have this power. Having this power means that I'm not normal. A freak."_

"_That's not true. Because of your power, you made that little girl happy." Ayumi looked at the little girl and smiled at how happy she was. "What is your power exactly?"_

"_Light manipulation. I can create light and shape it into whatever I want. I can even shape the light around all living beings and make it visible."_

"_Light around living beings?"_

"_Hai. But some people call the light around them aura."_

"_I see. How did you get the girl's rabbit to fly though?"_

"_I transferred some of my light into the bunny and gave it wings."_

"_That kind of power can come in handy for a Hero."_

"_Hero? Me?"_

"_Yeah. Your power can be used to save people. I can teach you how to be a Hero. If you are willing to accept."_

"_I guess I can try."_

_End Flashback…_

"That's impossible."

"Doushite?"

"Because my power isn't cool like the real Heroes."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Cutie Angel flew towards the boy until she was flying in front of him. "I used to think that too. All I can do with my power is change the shape of light. I don't have super strength, super speed, or anything like that. But one day I was convinced that my power can be useful someday. Now I'm a Hero. As long as you use your power to save people, you don't need a cool kind of power."

"Honto ni?"

"Angel-chan is right." Cutie Angel and the kid looked down and Wild Tiger who was looking up at them. "But first you need to go outside and apologize to everyone and go to the police."

"Are you crazy?!" Wild Tiger and Cutie Angel were surprised by Barnaby's outburst. "If we don't arrest him, we won't get points!" Cutie Angel had an upset pout on her face and she flew down and slapped Barnaby in the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Be quiet!"

"You want to start using your powers for good, don't you? Then come down from there."

The kid thought for a while before jumping off the Lion Statue. Wild Tiger, Barnaby, and Cutie Angel walked out of the building with the kid, whose name was Tony. Tony looked up and Wild Tiger who nodded in encouragement as Tony started walking towards the police. Suddenly a woman screamed followed by a rumbling sound as the three Heroes looked up to see that the dome was starting to fall.

"The dome's coming down!" Cutie Angel and Barnaby were about to go and stop the dome from falling but were stopped when Wild Tiger stuck his arm out in front of them. "Tiger-san?"

"Leave this one to me."

Wild Tiger, Sky High, Blue Rose, and Rock Bison went up and held the dome back from falling. Unfortunately Wild Tiger's five minutes were running out since the other four Heroes can't hold up the dome with just the four of them. Cutie Angel saw that the skater she saved earlier was still in the dome as she flew inside the dome and carried him down to safety.

"Hey, Tony!" Cutie Angel looked back at Tony who looked shocked. "Please, help us out! Everyone's going to be in danger! Please, help us out!"

"But I can't."

"Yes, you can! You can do it! I only have five seconds!"

Wild Tiger was starting to lose power as the dome became heavier and started pushing down on them until it was lifted up by the Steel Hammer statue that was being controlled by Tony. Tony turned off his power and was now sitting in a police car with Wild Tiger standing outside by the window.

"You saved us, Tony. That makes you a Hero, too."

Wild Tiger watched the police car drive away as Barnaby and Cutie Angel walked over to him. They saw that Wild Tiger still had some power left even though he said he had less than five seconds a while ago. Wild Tiger pretended to be surprised, but Barnaby could tell he was pretending and decided to leave.

"Tiger-san, did you lie about losing your power so Tony can use his power to save everyone?" Wild Tiger gestured Cutie Angel to be quiet before looking towards where the police car drove way with Tony inside. 'Looks like you helped another NEXT realize that their power is a gift rather than a curse.'


End file.
